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EOHR condemns killing of three Egyptian soldiers by Israeli gunfire and demands immediate investigation
18/11/2004
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) condemns the killing of three Egyptian soldiers (Hany Ali Sobhy, Amer Abu Bakr Amer and Mohamed Abdel Fattah Ali) by Israeli occupation forces gunfire at the Salaheddin crossing on the Egyptian - Israeli border.
These latest killings join the list of illegal acts committed by Israeli soldiers against Egyptian soldiers and civilians during the 1967 and 1973 wars, and more recently - occupation forces tanks have previously opened fire on Egyptian soldiers and civilians on the Egyptian - Israeli border. This is in addition to the 1981 Shabra and Shatilla massacres, the inhumane treatment of the Palestinian people embodied in mass detention, brutal massacres, targeting of civilians, women and children and members of the Palestinian leadership, torture, laying siege to, and randomly destroying towns and villages and the use of heavy weaponry against civilians.
EOHR attributes full responsibility for these inhumane killings to the Israeli Government, and demands that it presents an official apology for them as well as offer monetary compensation to the three soldiers' families. An immediate inquiry must be conducted and those found responsible sent for trial.
EOHR also makes the following demands:
1. Measures necessary to prevent a repeat of such events must be taken in order to protect the lives of civilians and innocent soldiers. The border shared by Egypt and Israel has previously witnessed similar incidents resulting in civilian and military casualties caused by the random violence of occupation forces tanks. In addition to this, Egyptians in the border town of Rafah are occasionally injured during exchanges of fire between Israelis and Palestinians. Repeated Israeli incursions into Egyptian territory must be stopped.
2. Serious steps must also be taken to bring Israel to account for the serious human rights violations committed against the Egyptian soldiers and those responsible sent for trial.
3. The international community must take steps to stop the transgressions committed by the Israeli occupation forces against Egyptian soldiers: International silence about Israeli violence committed against Arabs, and Palestinians in particular, lends legitimacy to these acts and ultimately leads to more acts of state terrorism against the people of the region.
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